Finding Their Way
by NaijaChiqa
Summary: Ryan's return to Chino breaks his bond with Seth. Can their relationship be saved? Can Seth convince Ryan to come back home? Non-slash.
1. Chapter One

I do not own The O.C. or any of the characters in this story.   
  
A/N: This is my attempt at a non-romantic multi-chapter fic. Wish me luck. It's going to be around 11 chapters.  
  
Summary: Ryan's need to care for the child that might be his, shatters the friendship he's developed with his almost-brother. This story examines how this changes both boys and how they try to mend their broken bond. It's post finale and not slash. Theresa will also be chiming in on the story from time to time.   
  
P.S.  
  
I know this might sound a little like one of the storylines in _Whistles and Echoes_ but I promise you that it is completely different. I hope you enjoy it.   
  
---  
  
"So how are you finding everything?" Kirsten asked Ryan. They'd had four phone conversations in as many days and even though she tried to word it differently, that question always came up. After living with her for almost a year, he'd learned to read between the lines and knew that was just her way of saying she missed him. And he missed her too, but he couldn't tell her because it'll only serve to hurt them both. Saying it would give her an opportunity to ask him to return to Newport and he didn't want to have to say 'no'.  
  
The city that had been his home for sixteen years, that he'd rarely ventured out of, felt very strange. 'Even this house,' he said to himself, looking around Theresa's living room. In his early teen days, he'd spent as much time in it as he had at his mother's – first to hang out with Arturo, later to be with Theresa, but the smell and feel of the place had become foreign to him.  
  
"Did you say something?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"Oh, no. So how's Sandy? They are really working him at the office; I've only been able to speak with him once since I left."  
  
"I know," she replied, hesitantly. Ryan didn't want to push – it was obvious that there was something she wasn't telling him, but he figured that it was somehow related to the case, that there was something sensitive about it that kept him working long hours and her, from telling him about it. Not that she normally shared that side of her husband's life with him anyway.  
  
"What about Seth?" Ryan inquired.   
  
"He's fine."  
  
"Is he home?" he asked, anticipating the response.   
  
"No, he's out with some friends," she replied, clearly lying. In all the time Ryan had known him, Seth had barely had a friend talk less of the plural form of the word. The Newport clique was small minded and since he didn't fit in their mold, they rejected him. Ryan on the other hand, had liked him instantly. It wasn't really Seth's quirkiness but his openness and willingness to share himself that he found so endearing, and for whatever reason, Seth reciprocated the feelings, which made their awkward goodbye even the more painful.   
  
Ryan had worried about it from the moment he climbed into Theresa's car and hadn't stopped since he'd arrived in Chino. All he wanted to do was speak to him and make sure everything was alright but he wasn't being given the chance. It appeared that no matter what time he called, Seth was never home. One didn't have to be clairvoyant to see that Seth was avoiding him.  
  
"That's great. I'm glad he's making more friends," Ryan said in a monotone.   
  
"Yeah…," Kirsten replied, her voice almost inaudible.  
  
"Anyway, Kirsten, I've got to go. Theresa's mother knows a guy who's the supervisor at some place about thirty minutes from here and he agreed to meet with me after work. I guess I'll be speaking with you tomorrow?"  
  
"Yes," she replied, sounding a little sad. "You shouldn't call like this so much – you're incurring long distance charges."  
  
"No –"  
  
"Ryan, how many times am I going to have to tell you to reverse the charges when you call us?" When Ryan didn't respond, she continued, "I'll call you tomorrow around 8pm. Is that alright?"  
  
"Yes, Kirsten."  
  
"This number is different. Which one should I use?"  
  
"Oh, I'm using a phone card. I normally use Theresa's cell for the free night minutes. You can call me on the house phone – the number I gave you on Wednesday."  
  
"Great. And Ryan…"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Make sure you take care of yourself."  
  
"I will, Kirsten."  
  
----  
  
Seth walked in as his mother put the phone receiver down.  
  
"Hey, Mom," he said apprehensively, setting down his duffle bag on the coffee table and rubbing his palms together. All his family had had from him in five days was the barely legible note he'd left for them. Not that he normally wrote badly, but he'd decided that the more indecipherable it was, the better, that way, he could claim to have written a whole bunch of stuff he hadn't even thought of.  
  
"Well, who do we have here?" his mother mocked from across the room. 'Mom, you really shouldn't do that,' he said under his breath. His mother wasn't known for her great sense of humor, and somehow, sarcasm kind of went hand in hand with that.   
  
"Mom --"  
  
"No," she interrupted, waving her finger, "Don't you dare 'Mom' me. For starters, you are grounded. I know your father always wants us to discuss these things first but I'm sure he'll make an exception this time. Secondly, what the hell is wrong with you? Why did you think leaving us a note and going to God-knows-where was a good idea? Why, Seth?"  
  
Seth didn't really know what to say. He'd expected this scene on his return but he hadn't quite figured out what to do when it finally came. So he kept his mouth shut.  
  
"What's wrong with you Seth? Aren't in a chatty mood? By the way, you are grounded till you leave for college. And by grounded, I mean that till school starts, you'll have a 5 o'clock curfew. And by 5, I mean 5pm, so don't even think of getting smart with me and trying to play that off as 5am. And during the school year, you are to be home no later than thirty minutes after your last class. Do you hear me?"  
  
He nodded. He'd only returned because he'd run out of money but sleeping on the street suddenly started looking really good to him.  
  
"And another thing," she started in a strong voice. 'What now?' he said to himself. He couldn't believe there was any way to make the punishment any more severe. "Come here," she said, crooking her finger.  
  
Nervous, Seth obeyed. His parents weren't big on corporal punishment but he figured five days was long enough for one to have a change in ideology. When he was standing in front of her, she stretched her hand to him and rubbed his face. Then she started feeling his body, as if to make sure that no bones were broken and that everything was in working order. When she was satisfied that he was alright, she pulled him to her and held on tight.  
  
"Don't you ever do that again," she whispered in a stilted voice. Seth responded by putting his arms around her.  
  
"Do you realize what your father and I have gone through these last few days?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Mom," he replied, feeling her tears seep through his shirt. "I didn't mean to hurt you."  
  
"Well, you should have known better," she said, breaking away from him then grabbing a tissue from its box and wiping under her eyes.  
  
Seth had started walking away when he heard his mother call him. He turned around.  
  
She was holding the phone receiver to her ear and Seth assumed she was about to call his father. "Once you get settled in, call Ryan. He's been calling to talk to you but I didn't have the heart to tell him you'd gone on a vacation, excursion, field trip or whatever you want to call it. By the way, start thinking of how you're going to explain yourself because once your father gets back, we're all going to have a sit-together to hear all about it. Okay?"  
  
"Okay Mom," he replied, picking up his bag and heading to his room. Sure, he'd come up with a creative way to explain his escape, even surf the internet for ideas if need be. But calling Ryan? He didn't think so. What could he possibly have to say to the ex-friend who had tossed him away like a director's cut of _Gigli_? 


	2. Chapter Two

I own nothing  
  
Thanks for the reviews. **Brandywine**, multitasking? What's that?  
  
----  
  
It was late afternoon and Seth was walking around the neighborhood, trying to enjoy some fresh air. He had only been back for a couple of days but he'd begun to feel like a prisoner. He wondered why his mother bothered giving him a curfew because she called at all hours of the day to make sure he was adhering to her instructions and not leaving the house. He was only risking it because he suspected that she was already on her way home and he knew that she hated using her cellular phone while driving.  
  
As he turned onto Main Street, he spotted Summer and Marissa step out of a clothing store. She was wearing little shorts and a tank top and he would have drunk in her beauty if he hadn't been trying to make an escape. Just before he succeeded, he heard his girlfriend call out his name.  
  
Caught, he skipped across the street to her. Her arms were folded under her breasts and her head tilted in defiance. Seth would have hugged her if he wasn't fearful of being scalded by the smoke coming out of her ears.  
  
"Marissa, do you see what I see or is it all a bad dream?" she snorted.  
  
"Unless we are having the same dream, I'll say that's Seth," her friend replied with a wicked smile. Seth wished he could smack that smirk off her face, after all, if not for all her drama, he would never have had to go sailing in the first place and in turn, wouldn't have pissed Summer off.  
  
"Seth, as in Seth Cohen? Why does that name sound familiar? Maybe it's someone I knew a long time ago."  
  
Seth sighed. If he wanted to see a performance, he'd have gotten tickets to _The Producers_. He didn't want to waste his last fifteen minutes of freedom playing 'apologetic boyfriend'. "Summer...," he started, reaching for her elbow.  
  
"Don't you dare touch me!" she screamed, separating and flailing her arms. "I'm even surprised you remember my name."  
  
"What do you mean? I called you when I got back," he protested.  
  
"Oh, Marissa,'' she whispered, moving her head closer to her friend but not taking her eyes off him, "he's a bastard AND a liar."  
  
"I'm not lying. I called you yesterday and your father told me you weren't home."  
  
"Well, I don't believe you. My dad never said you called and even if you did, why didn't you call my cell?" she wanted to know.  
  
"Because I'm grounded."   
  
"And that stops you from using the phone?"  
  
"I'm only allowed one call a day," he lied. He was quite pleased with that line – it fit his Oz theme, without the buttfucking, thank God. He'd always felt that lying should only be used when the truth sucked and lately, everything just sucked. He realized he'd left her a shitty letter and as a result, he didn't know what to say to her because he was scared shitless of her reaction. Not that jail's newest star could actually be scared shitless –it was merely an expression. There was no way he could be frightened of someone who was about half a foot shorter and weighed at least thirty pounds less. Heck, who was he kidding? He'd been more than relieved to hear her father's voice at the other end of the line. That call showed --without him having to talk to her and receiving a tongue-lashin-- that he still cared enough to contact her the minute he arrived. Well, it had been the next day, but that was close enough.   
  
"Seth, that's just bullshit. Your parents will never do that to you." She rolled her eyes.  
  
"Wanna bet? Think of how mad you are. Now multiply that by one million – that's how mad they are. I'm grounded; I feel like I'm in San Quentin."  
  
"Good for you – you deserve it," she replied, her nose flaring. "You're an ass and a complete idiot and I feel stupid for ever worrying about you since it seems you never worried about me."  
  
"Summer, I called you."  
  
"When you got back. While you were gone, did you once bother to call me to just let me know everything was okay? I was scared that you'd been eaten by a shark or something."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"No, you're not. If you were, you'd have come straight to my house to let me know everything was okay. Instead, you made an imaginary call. If I wasn't sure I wanted to break up with you before, I'm definitely sure now. It wasn't nice knowing you, assface."  
  
"Summer…"  
  
"Marissa, let's go. I saw a sale sign in the Prada store."  
  
"Summer, I'm sorry."  
  
"Whatever," she said, pulling Marissa's hand as she walked away.  
  
----  
  
It wasn't that Seth was surprised that Summer had dumped him – he'd kind of expected it. And in a way, he was kind of relieved. He knew that he and Summer would eventually get back together –how could they not -he just needed some time to himself to reflect on the way his life had changed and how his future would be different from what he'd imagined. He was wondering what a summer without Summer would be like when he almost walked past The Crab Shack. He decided to just pop in for a few minutes to say hello to Ryan when he saw a waiter he didn't recognize and remembered that Ryan no longer worked there. Yes, all his summer plans had been shot to hell just because Ryan was too pigheaded to stay where he belonged. On his way out of the restaurant, he heard someone say, "Hey, Emogeek, where's your boyfriend? Had a lovers' spat?" He spun around to see Jake Anderson, an old pal of Luke's, smiling back at him.   
  
When Seth was back on the street again, he looked around for Master Cheng's school. He'd finally figured out what he'd do for the summer: take karate lessons. Not only would that keep him busy, it also meant that he'd finally be able to make good on the few ass-whoopings he owed.  
  
----  
  
"… but it's coming along nicely," Sandy finished.   
  
"That's good," Ryan said even though he wasn't quite sure what his former guardian had said. His newest family had run out of a few things and just as he was about to go to the corner grocery store, Theresa's phone rang, so he decided to take it with him on the walk there. But the thing was, Chino wasn't the safest place to walk alone while the sun rested so Ryan had to remain alert, which meant he couldn't concentrate on his conversation.  
  
"When do you start your new job?" Sandy asked.  
  
"Next week," he wished he didn't have to say. If only he had other options. $8.50/hr wasn't bad for a high school student but this wasn't a burger joint. He'd be working at a factory making parts for transformers and after visiting the plant, he wondered how was going to work there without contracting a deadly disease.  
  
"Is Seth around?" he asked. He was getting increasingly irritated with the whole thing. It wasn't his style to beg people for forgiveness and he just wished Seth would just talk to him so that they could move on. After all, he did have far more important things to worry about than his feelings.   
  
"Yes," Sandy said, "let me get him."  
  
Ryan was still on hold when he stepped into the grocery store. He was already heading for the cashier with a full basket when he heard Sandy's faint voice say, "If you know what's good for you, pick that phone up!" A few moments later, he heard someone breathing at the other end.  
  
"Seth?"  
  
"Yes," a reluctant voice replied.   
  
"How is it going?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"How was your trip? I feel so bad that we didn't get to sail together." He'd only found out about the trip after Seth had returned and he still wasn't sure what to make of it.   
  
"Whatever."   
  
Ryan sniffed –Seth had begun to test his patience. "I'm thinking of coming down for a visit soon. Maybe we could hang out then."  
  
"I'll be busy."  
  
Ryan sighed - the boy sure as hell wasn't making it easy for him. Being back where he grew up reminded him that it was possible to live in less-than-ideal situations. Sure, he wouldn't necessarily be happy but if Seth wanted to act like that, he'd figure out a way to deal with it. He wasn't giving up, but he was tired and Theresa's mother was waiting for him, so, he decided that he'd had enough for the day. "Okay, I'll see you. Take care, Se---" He heard a click before he could finish his sentence. Ryan hung up, put the phone in his pocket then put the groceries on the belt.  
  
He smiled at the cashier but when she frowned in return, remembered that 'service with a smile' didn't apply in Chino. He was looking through his wallet when she spoke to him.  
  
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked, looking into her cold brown eyes.  
  
"Ry, are you saying you don't remember me?"  
  
Ryan peered into her face and after a few moments, she started to look familiar. Then it hit him – with shorter, darker hair, she'd look exactly like Eddie's little sister. "Hey, Jenny, how's it going?"  
  
"You're back for a visit?" she asked, running his crate of eggs over the scanner.  
  
"No, I'm back for good."  
  
She lifted her left eyebrow. "Got kicked out? Couldn't stand to live around all that money while getting none?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then why did you come back?"  
  
Ryan shrugged. It wasn't anybody's business. Besides, in a few months, when Theresa started to show, they'd all figure it out. Till then, however, he didn't think it was his duty to give them any information.  
  
"Alright, be like that – don't tell me. But you might want to go somewhere else because my brother is mad at you."  
  
"So what? I can't help that. And I don't care."  
  
"Well, you had better care. This isn't some prissy rich-boy neighborhood you can be all bad-ass in. Remember that you ain't shit and if Eddie wants to get you, he will, so don't even try to act macho with me. Take my advice and skip town - the cops won't be able to save you if he gets to you. Don't forget - this is Chino."  
  
Don't forget? Like that would happen if he tried. 


	3. Chapter Three

I own nothing  
  
I know it's starting off slow but it'll pick up…  
  
----  
  
Theresa wiped down the counter. She'd had so little morning sickness that she wondered if the doctors knew what they were saying when they claimed she was pregnant. Granted, it had been a few months since her last period but she'd never really been regular and as for the test, one out of the three she'd taken had resulted in a minus sign. But her mother had said she'd experienced lower back pain in her two pregnancies and as she rubbed the small of her back, she knew she couldn't deny having the same symptom.   
  
She was refilling her coffee pot when she saw a familiar skinny boy walk into the café. She'd known she'd be risking running into a member of Ryan's old clan when she accepted the catering job in Newport, but it didn't matter that much to her – she figured earning money for diapers and any other things the baby might need outweighed avoiding uncomfortable situations. Besides, since she'd learned she was pregnant, she'd had far less time for bullshit and melodrama.  
  
"Theresa, as you can see, the customer at Table 8 is waiting. In case you were unaware, this is not a buffet, so we don't expect our customers to serve themselves," the assistant manager grunted. Theresa couldn't help feeling sorry for the hateful woman because she felt that if she wasn't so ugly, and her chest not so flat, she'd have been able to find a man to help diffuse all that tension. About once a day, she thought of buying her a dildo but wasn't quite sure how the gift would be perceived.   
  
"Welcome," she sang, handing Seth the menu. She held out the coffee pot, "Would you like some coffee?"   
  
He looked a little shocked when he recognized her but after regaining his composure, he nodded then stuck his cup out at her. She filled it.  
  
"How's your mother?" She pulled out her order book and looked down at him.  
  
"She's fine," he replied. His eyes were moving from side to side in discomfort and she felt a twinge of guilt for rattling him that way.  
  
"It's been a while. What would you like?" she asked kindly.  
  
He looked at the menu, perused the four cardboard pages, then looked up at her. "What do you suggest?"  
  
She shrugged. "I don't know what you like… how about grilled cheese sandwiches?"  
  
He thought for a moment. "That sounds fine. What kind of cheese, though?"  
  
What the hell? "American. Grade A, D or whatever the highest grade for cheese is. How about some fries with that?"  
  
---  
  
When she saw that he was done with his meal, she went back to him.   
  
"Will that be all?" She didn't mean to be impatient but she'd already calculated that she wouldn't be getting more than a two dollar tip from him and for a smile and a sway of her hips, she was sure the gentlemen at Table 12 would fork over at least ten dollars.   
  
He studied the pastry counter. "What kind of pie do you have?"  
  
She scratched the side of her head. "Seth, from what I remember, your folks keep a lot of pie at home. What's going on?" Seriously, why was he even there? Why would anyone spend money on a solo lunch at a diner when there was plenty of free food at home?  
  
"How is this your business?" he snapped. "I thought your job was to serve me, not grill me."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for being friendly."  
  
"Oh, you want to be a friend to me, just like you were to Ryan?"  
  
She grimaced. As if she wasn't already feeling bad about that enough. "Isn't that rich coming for you? What would you know about being a friend to Ryan? When was the last time you even spoke to him? At least I'm there when he needs me."  
  
----  
  
"Michael Ashton, please call 2132, Michael Ashton, 2132," a voice boomed over the paging system.  
  
Ryan waited for a few seconds before he tapped the guy seating a few feet from him. "Dude, you're being paged in Quality Control,"  
  
The chubby man turned the soldering machine off, removed his goggles and looked at him. "No, that's not me, it's my Dad."  
  
"Your Dad?"  
  
"Yeah, we've got the same name."  
  
"So how call you tell they were paging him?"  
  
"Because they call him Mike Ashton and me Michael Ashton."  
  
That was the thing about Vector Technologies –it was just one big happy family. Almost everyone he'd met had at least two other relatives working at the company. It was only about 80 years old but there were some people whose families had been with it since its inception. They all spoke about how they loved the company because they got to work a lot of overtime and earn a time and a half for the additional hours most of them incurred working twelve hours days -including weekends.   
  
Eighty hours a week. He understood that as an adult, he needed to work as many hours as possible but the entire thing was far too daunting. He was on a three month probationary period where his work was being evaluated and if he passed at the end, he'd be a full fledged member of the union. He'd be entitled to one paid week off in the current year, two weeks off in three years and three weeks off after working at the plant for eight years. Eight fucking years of making parts for transistors. Who knew he'd miss finding matrices and inverse correlations?   
  
---  
  
Seth could not have been more annoyed at Theresa. What gave her the right to judge him like that? Why did she think she could act so superior? She hadn't been the one who'd been left behind, no, she'd been the chosen one. So what the hell made her think she could understand where he was coming from? And why would she care, anyway? Her life hadn't changed one bit. Just like before, she was scouring Newport, looking for jobs and in fact, if anything, her life had changed for the better because now, Ryan would also be a source of income for her. No wonder she had the guts to talk – she'd scored a sweet deal.  
  
He put the receiver to his ear and dialed a number. After listening to all that trash, he needed someone on his side. What was wrong with everyone anyway? Why did they all act like he didn't have a right to act the way he did? He'd been hurt too, dammit! His fucking best friend had left him and they were all acting like he was overreacting. He'd begged him to stay, even planned to sell his boat for him, yet they were acting like he was selfish. What was their problem? Why couldn't they all understand him?  
  
"Hello?" her unmistakable voice said. He smiled. Finally, he'd get to tell his side of the story to someone he was sure would understand him.  
  
---  
  
"I see," she said.  
  
"And now I have to take some karate classes so I can kick some ass!" he said after recounting the entire ordeal to her. He hadn't meant to but he'd embellished it a little here and there -just to give it a little drama- but he was sure she got the gist of it.  
  
"So, Ryan's gone back to Chino because of his pregnant ex-girlfriend," Anna summarized in a bored voice.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you needed some time to get away because you felt your life was falling apart."  
  
"Exactly! I knew you'd understand me."  
  
"And now, everyone's mad because even though you're safe now, they had no clue where you were for a few days."  
  
"Yes. But as you said, I am fine now, so they shouldn't be mad." At times like this, he missed his old friend. She didn't even have to see him to understand where he was coming from. He wondered what in the California water made people so damn blind.  
  
"And you're not talking to Ryan anymore." Was that sleep he heard in her voice?  
  
"Why should I? He didn't care enough to stay... after all we've been through."  
  
"I see."  
  
He waited for her to continue, but nothing came. "Is that all you're going to say?"  
  
"What more do you want?"  
  
"You know, you always know the right thing to say…"  
  
"Uhm, o.k…"  
  
"So say something," he implored.

"Confidence, Cohen."  
  
"What?" Huh?  
  
"That's the best I can do, Seth." Seth heard a tap run in the background. At least he hoped it was a tap – she'd better not be peeing!  
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"You're an ass! That's what I mean. You're a stupid, selfish, ass! How old are you?"  
  
What the fuck, why was she screaming at him? What happened to understanding? "Anna, hang on…"  
  
"Just answer me. How old are you?"  
  
"Seventeen."  
  
"How old is Ryan?"  
  
"The same."  
  
"You're seventeen, he's seventeen. Both of your parents love you, you live with them in a big house with maids, taking Judo –"  
  
"Karate," he sighed. What was wrong with everyone? Karate was Karate, Judo – Judo, Taekwondo – Taekwondo. Karate however, was not Judo. What was confusing in that?  
  
"Oh, sorry… Karate classes during the summer, chilling without a care in the world. He, on the other hand, is living with his ex-girlfriend's mother, his dad is in jail, his mother is wherever, he has to leave school and work because he's got a baby on the way and I'm supposed to sympathize with you because he didn't stay in Newport to play WWF Smackdown with you? This is why you called me?"  
  
I couldn't believe that even _she_ was turning on me. "Anna --"  
  
"Seth, what time is it?" she growled.  
  
"It's 11:45."  
  
"That's right, 11:45 in California."  
  
"But where am I? Seth, please tell me where I am."  
  
"Pittsburgh."  
  
"You gat that right. Not Pittsburgh, Arizona or even Pittsburgh, Texas, but fucking Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Seth, you woke me up at 2:45 in the fucking morning to complain about some shit that I know you're smart enough to figure out. Why oh why you feel you are entitled to anything baffles me. Why you think it makes more sense for him to abandon his kid for you is mindboggling. Tell me, are you in love with him? Is that what this is about?"  
  
"Of course not, yuck, he's a great guy and all but… hell no!"  
  
"Then shut the hell up!" she screamed before hanging up.


	4. Chapter Four

I do not own The O.C.  
  
Thanks for the reviews.  
  
A/N: I have lost my mind a little with the posting frenzy, but trust me, by next week, I'll be back to updating at snail's pace.  
  
---  
  
Ryan got off the bus about ten stops early. He'd done a 7-6:30 shift and was as tired as fuck but he needed some time to himself. Time from his co-workers, time from the other bus riders, time from Theresa and her mother. Other than the family he'd come to care about, he really missed the solitude of the pool house. Growing up, he'd always shared a room with Trey and even after he moved out, he still couldn't enjoy it because his mother and her boyfriends were always on his case, making him run errands, giving orders, scolding him for whatever reason; just bugging the daylights out of him.  
  
Theresa's family tried to give him some privacy but it was near impossible with him sleeping on the living room couch. Arturo's room had been converted into a storeroom with all sorts of junk that looked like it should be or had been thrown away. But for some reason, Eva thought it might "come in handy in the future." Ryan was waiting to see the future in which a chest of drawers with no drawers would be useful.  
  
He reached into his backpack and pulled out the old navy baseball cap Theresa had given him a few years earlier. The sun still had at least two hours left in it and it was making sure everyone knew it. Eyes protected, Ryan started the long journey home.  
  
After about fifteen minutes of thinking more about his aching muscles than anything else, he decided to take a short cut home. It wasn't like he was going to be walking through a thick, dark forest or anything; it just meant that instead of walking along the road, he'd have to walk behind people's houses and through a few yards.  
  
A few minutes later, he was doing his best to not further agitate a barking rotweiler when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Before he could turn around completely, he felt a sharp blow hit his abdomen. Coughing and doubled over in pain, before he had time to guess which coward had sucker-punched him, he heard, "I guess the rumors are true, Ry. You're back."  
  
Eddie. His former friend Eddie was the asshole. He stood up straight. Why did he have to catch him on the day his lunch had been one sickly looking ham sandwich? "Eddie, what do you want?"  
  
Standing confidently, he replied, "What do you think, Ryan? You need to get the fuck out of here."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're not welcome here anymore, Ryan. You forgot that loyalty means something over here. Get the fuck out!"  
  
Ryan shook his head and bent down to pick up his backpack – he really didn't have time for bullshit. "Listen Eddie," he started to say, but when from the corner of his eye he saw a sudden movement, he ducked before his coiled fist could hit his chest.  
  
Ryan stepped aside so he was now facing his attacker. "Listen, dude, I don't want to fight you."  
  
"Yeah? What? You're soft now? You're a fucking pussy now? Is that what it is?" Eddie was jumping around like he thought he was Muhammed Ali.  
  
Ryan put his hands up in surrender. "I'm not fighting you, okay?" Eddie moved closer but Ryan stood his ground – he had to put a stop to the nonsense. "It's not like the old days; I have no reason to fight you."  
  
"You don't?" he asked, accompanying the question with a slap across Ryan's face.  
  
No, he didn't just slap me, Ryan thought. And almost like he could read his thoughts, he gave him another one just to make sure things were understood. Ryan's hand was caressing his right cheek when Eddie's palm forcefully went across his left one. He tasted blood.  
  
"So whatcha gonna do?" he challenged, crooking his head. "What _are_ you going to do?"  
  
Ryan walked a few steps back and with all the energy he could manage, ran across and head-butted him. Eddie fell down flat. "I told you I didn't want to fight." But when he turned to leave, Eddie tripped him.  
  
What the fuck was going on? He didn't want to fight the bastard, but he wouldn't listen. What the hell was his problem?  
  
"You're an asshole, you know that?" Ryan offered as he slowly stood up to nurse the soon-to-be-swollen spot on his head.  
  
"Fuck you!" he replied, also getting up.  
  
He was fine till Eddie spat on him. He'd promised himself to have a peaceful summer, but the idiot had crossed the line. If anything, _he_ should be mad at him. Granted, he'd slept with Theresa when his friend still wanted her but he wasn't the sewer-dwelling rodent who'd raised his hand to hit a woman. And not just any woman, but the woman he claimed to love. The woman that may have been carrying his own child. And he was trying to make him feel guilty? Fuck him.  
  
Ryan charged across and before long, they were both rolling in the dust, throwing punches, trying to best one another. He could hear a small crowd forming but he couldn't care less.  
  
Ryan seized his chance when Eddie hit the hard, graveled ground instead of his head. Before Eddie could recover from the pain, still lying on the ground, Ryan wrapped his arm around his neck and squeezed. Secure in the hold, Ryan slowly sat up, dragging Eddie with him.  
  
"Listen to me carefully. I am here to stay. I live here now. Not you or anybody can chase me away. Do you understand that?" he growled into his ear. He ignored the scores of eyes on him and continued, "Theresa doesn't want to see you again so leave her alone. Stop calling." She'd never admitted it but Ryan was sure he still called her. "Just stop it and leave us alone. Do you understand me?"  
  
"Fuck you!" he spluttered in half-breaths.  
  
Ryan squeezed harder till he noticed the veins in Eddie's head bulge. He didn't want to do it but he had to make sure they were clear -they couldn't have a repeat of this evening. "Eddie, you're not--"  
  
He was interrupted by a strange sensation on the side of his head. It was only after he saw the broken glass fall on Eddie's face did it start to throb. Before he could look up, another bottle broke on his head, forcing him to lose concentration. He released his grip and fell to the side.  
  
Then the kicks came. All over his body – his abdomen, his back, his butt, his arms, everywhere. All he saw were feet and clouds of dust and when he tried to look up, the sun shone in his eyes.  
  
Eddie asked the kickers to stop but they ignored him.  
  
"Not his face – he's cute," he heard a female voice say. As if in response, he heard the distinct sound of palm to skin and a scream following it. But that didn't stop them from administering the blows. Ryan tried to figure out a way to escape but his head hurt too much. All he could do was think of how funny it was that the cops never showed up at the right time.  
  
Eddie repeated his plea, this time in a much louder, authoritative voice.  
  
"You shut the fuck up, you bitch! If we didn't come, he'd have killed you," a female voice said.  
  
"Jenny, are you crazy? Stop that right now!"  
  
"Why? He doesn't give a fuck about you. Look what he did to you and Theresa."  
  
"I don't care. Stop it right now."

"You're a fucking cunt," she yelled but in a different voice, asked her gang to stop.  
  
Ryan was still attempting to get up with someone moved up to him and shielded him from the sun for a few moments. He looked up and found himself looking into Jenny's cold, brown eyes. "I warned you to stay away, didn't I? Now do yourself a favor and get the fuck out of here."  
  
---  
  
Ryan walked to the table and pressed a button. The women had doted on him when he finally returned. Eva had gone into a lecture about violence and even though she didn't say it, he could tell from the tears in her eyes that Theresa knew exactly who he'd run into. When they were finally convinced that he wasn't going to die, they told him about the message on the answering machine.  
  
_"Hey, Ryan,"_ Seth's voice boomed out of the machine, _"I was just calling to see how everything is going. That's all. Take care."  
_  
Ryan glanced at his watch: 9:42. It wasn't too late to call but he was far too tired to speak.


	5. Chapter Five

I do not own The O.C.

A/N: Did you think I abandoned this? Well, Anna and Ryan kept bugging the hell out of me so I had to put this on ice. So does that mean there will be quicker updates? Yes. Will it be finished before the premiere? Yep. Will the said updates be consistent? Well, sure, but only in the month of October. Do I have anything else to say? Nope.

---&&&&&---

Ryan pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat that had begun to settle on his brow. He'd worked the 7-7 shift the previous night but couldn't even sleep-in because Eva had decided they were having a garage sale. Arturo was being let out of jail for good behavior so she had no choice but to get rid of what Ryan teased were her "prized finds."

He'd already spent half of the morning hurling out bulky furniture and placing it neatly with the other junk Eva normally kept in the backyard. His skin burned as he walked briskly to the grocery store. He'd been ordered to pick up some empty boxes and couldn't wait till he got back so that he could just jump into the shower and relax. He puffed on the last of his cigarette as he approached the store and as he walked up its driveway, he noticed Jenny leaning against the wall closest to the entrance.

He wasn't normally a snob but after his previous encounters with her, he had no intention of stopping to talk, so he just kept on walking. When he was about to push the door in, he heard her cough.

Reflexively, he turned and saw her staring back at him.

"Can I bum a smoke off you?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. She had to be kidding.

"Ryan," she said, smiling, "I'm really dying here. Just one."

He looked at her full lips and widely spaced eyes and wondered how someone who looked so innocent could act the way she normally did.

But hell, it was only a cigarette, right? It was no big deal. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the box of Malboro, held it out to her and waited as she pulled one out. He was about to turn around when she said, "Hey, talk to me for a minute."

She said it so sweetly, that he couldn't help but oblige her. Plus, he'd be talking to the same two women for weeks now that he didn't mind hearing a difference voice. Even if it was hers.

"I'm really sorry about what happened," she said, her face grim. "Eddie's my brother, you know. I have to protect him."

Ryan moved to the wall and leaned against it. He knew all about protecting one's older sibling except in her case, it didn't really make much sense. It's not like he'd been going around getting on Eddie's case. "I didn't start it," he reminded her.

"Come on, now. Everyone here knows what you did with Theresa. He was the laughing stock for a while. I mean, how da hell does someone in another town steal a guy's girl? I couldn't just let you punk him out like that, you know? At least now, everyone knows that we don't just stand back and let people disrespect us."

Ryan nodded. Even though he believed that even if he wasn't in the picture, Theresa would still have left Eddie, he could understand that sometimes, pride and honor were the only things people in Chino had to hold on to. "Is that why you're now a gangbanger?" he asked, the corner of his right cheek raised slightly.

Her forehead wrinkled, she said, "Huh?"

"Your little kicking friends."

"Oh," she said, giggling. "I guess you can call us a gang. We just got sick of dealing with the bullshit in this town. It's like, if we don't do something about it, nothing will fucking change."

"What do you mean?"

"Other than becoming some kid's mom, married –if you're lucky, what does a girl have to look forward to here?" she asked, looking around her. "Absolutely nothing. So we support each other. The thing is, we've got bigger plans and we're going to make damn sure we get out of this dump."

"How?"

"The usual; getting good grades, working hard, earning money the right way – there's no quicker way to get to jail than doing some dumb shit like trying to rob a 7-11."

It was so different from what he'd expected to hear that he couldn't help being fascinated. "What else?"

She sucked on the cigarette then let the smoke escape through her nose. "You know, not getting pregnant and all that shit. Or even worse, falling in love with some loser who'll screw you up in the head and make you think you're happy being his slave."

"Sounds like a good plan, I guess. So I take it you guys don't hang out with dudes, huh?"

"Nope. We don't. But we fuck, though... hey," she said, pinching herself, "I'm not made of wood." She laughed at her own joke. And then almost like an afterthought, shrugged and added, "We are just careful."

"That's good." If being careful was all it took, he'd have been back in Newport.

"You know how girls are," she continued. "A guy's sticking her and she thinks he loves her and it's like, 'bitch, he's just sticking you because you're a warm body. Tomorrow, he's going to be fucking the girl down the street.' We understand that and just treat guys the same way. I guess you can say we fuck like guys."

He hadn't expected the conversation to go in that direction so all he could manage was, "Cool."

She laughed before, once again, placing the cigarette in her mouth. After exhaling, she nudged him. "Yeah, you thought you had cornered the market, huh?"

"On what?"

"On this." She put her hand on his head and pushed his face closer till she engulfed his lips with hers.

She tasted of burnt nicotine and hash browns and he decided he didn't really like that combination. She didn't kiss like any girl he knew; she wasn't sweet or sensuous, or even playful and teasing. Instead, she was demanding, sucking his tongue hungrily, only stopping to lash hers inside his mouth, ensuring every single inch was licked. At some point, he was sure she even bit him. Before he could even think to stop the madness and get her off him, she stepped back.

"See?" she said, smiling impishly. "Just like a man – I take what I want."

---&&&&&--

Ryan spent the walk home wondering why he'd let that kiss last longer than it deserved. It hadn't been the first time that a girl had thrown herself at him, but he wasn't quite sure that she had _thrown_ herself at him. She had done something though, and he suspected he didn't like it very much. Sure, she was cute, but was he really attracted to her? How would any guy in his right mind be? But she was definitely interesting.... Okay, maybe not interesting, but she was definitely different. But he'd never thought of himself as someone who liked _different._ They hadn't parted with promises of any sort but Ryan couldn't help wondering when he'd see her again.

He walked into Theresa's backyard, tasting Jenny's cigarette on his tongue, looking at the remaining sticks in their box, wondering if it was time to finally quit when he noticed Seth piling junk on one of the tables.

"What are you doing here?" he called, running up to him.

Seth ran his hand through his hair and said, "Oh, I called and Theresa said you were having a garage sale, so I'm here to help."

---&&&&&---

A/N: I apologize for the extreme suckage and boringnessation of this chapter. (Yeah, I create my own words.) I guess I am just getting back into the swing of things. The next one will be better (I hope).


End file.
